A combined ATP-WTA event, the China Open is the biggest tournament on the Asian leg of the WTA calendar and the fourth and last Premier Mandatory stop of the season.

The tournament, which launched as a Tier II event in 2004 and was upgraded to Premier status in 2009, is staged in Beijing Olympic Park at the China National Tennis Center. The facility - constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics - expanded to 11 courts featuring a new 15,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof in 2011. It utilizes space-age air-cooling technology. In 2006, the China Open became the first tournament outside the United States to implement Hawk-Eye electronic line calling.

A center for politics, culture, business, transportation and education, Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populated cities in the world.

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

An absolutely packed field has descended on Beijing for the biggest stop left on the Road To Singapore, the China Open - get ready for a big week right here with 10 Things To Know!

1) This is the biggest stop left before Singapore.There are only three weeks left before the season-ending BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and the China Open in Beijing - a Premier Mandatory-level event - is by far the biggest stop left in the lead-up (the next-biggest is the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, a regular Premier).

2) Sixteen of the Top 20 players in the world are in Beijing.Simona Halep headlines seven of the Top 10 and 16 of the Top 20 in the draw. The only four Top 20 players missing are Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Lucie Safarova and Ekaterina Makarova.

3) Halep is the favorite but looking to rebound.Halep isn't just the No.1 seed this week, but she's also got more hardcourt wins than anyone on the tour this year with 40 - but things didn't go exactly to plan for her in Guangzhou and Wuhan.

4) Kvitova did better here last year than anyone else in the draw.The defending champion, Sharapova, had to withdraw injured this year, but last year's runner-up - Petra Kvitova - is here. The No.2-seeded Czech has a tough opener in Sara Errani, a former No.5.

5) The Pennetta farewell tour begins this week.After winning her first major at the US Open, Flavia Pennetta announced she would retire at the end of the year. This is her last scheduled event - she could qualify for Singapore or Zhuhai though...

6) Radwanska is one of four former champions in the field.There are four former champions in the China Open field this year - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2006 and 2009), Jelena Jankovic (2008), Caroline Wozniacki (2010) and Agnieszka Radwanska (2011).

7) There are some very, very dangerous unseeded players in the draw.Six former Top 5s to be exact - two former No.1s (Jankovic and Venus Williams), a former No.2 (Kuznetsova), a former No.4 (Sam Stosur) and two former No.5s (Errani and Eugenie Bouchard).

The doubles draw is packed, too.Nine of the Top 11 teams on the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard are in Beijing, and the only two teams missing are kind of not missing - with Safarova and Makarova both out due to illness and injury, their partners, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Elena Vesnina, have joined and are No.2 seeds.

9) Main draw play gets underway on Saturday.The China Open is a nine-day event and main draw play gets underway on Saturday. Headlining the Day 1 order of play is No.6 seed Ana Ivanovic, who plays Casey Dellacqua in the feature night match.

10) Find out where you can watch live coverage from Beijing on WTA TV developed by Xerox!

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

Sara Errani had lost to Petra Kvitova in all six of their previous meetings, but it was seventh time lucky for the Italian as they met in the first round of the China Open on Sunday.

Watch live action from Beijing throughout the week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Though the last three had gone to three sets, Kvitova came into this meeting with a perfect 6-0 record against Errani - and given Kvitova was a returning finalist in Beijing, the odds seemed stacked.

But from the beginning Errani was on her game in every way, sending just about everything Kvitova sent at her back and grinding out points time and time again, jumping out to an early 3-1 lead and, after letting go of the break, eventually closing out the opening frame after exactly an hour, 7-5.

After four straight breaks then four straight holds to start the second set, Errani pounced one last time, breaking at love to go up 5-4 then serving out a 7-5, 6-4 victory against the No.2-seeded Czech.

"I had never beaten her, and she's a really good player, so I'm happy I could finally win in a big tournament like this one," Errani said. "It was just a few points that made the difference. I just tried to stay there every point and stay solid without too many mistakes - that's my game, anyway.

"The draw wasn't easy - I did the draw, and I was the last one out. But now I'm happy, so it's good!"

The match numbers told the story. Kvitova was the aggressor, hitting 42 winners to 49 unforced errors, while Errani was just too solid, finishing with a +1 differential (15 winners to 14 unforced errors).

And a stat that could haunt Kvitova? The Czech converted just four of her 17 break point chances.

Kvitova met the press afterwards and explained why the loss was doubly disappointing.

"Of course the loss is always disappointing. I really wanted to win and qualify for Singapore here. But I just wasn't really able to," the World No.4 said. "It was the kind of game where I had to really be ready physically and mentally, and I just wasn't. I couldn't really serve in the second set, either.

"I didn't really help with anything, and she was going for her chances - it was just difficult."

It wasn't just Errani's first win in seven tries against Kvitova, it was also just her third win in 40 tries against Top 5 players - her previous two wins over Top 5 players came against a No.4-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska (at the French Open in 2013) and a No.2-ranked Li Na (at Rome in 2014).

Next up for Errani is Caroline Garcia, who beat Chinese No.1 Zheng Saisai in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Garcia leads Errani in their head-to-head, 2-1, though Errani did win their most recent meeting.

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."

_________________“I doubt about myself, I think the doubts are good in life. The people who don’t have doubts I think only two things: arrogance or not intelligence.”

"When these kind of matches happen you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments. I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."